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Prof. Gajda Writes in Slate on Access to Bodycam Video

November 16, 2017

Tulane Law Professor Amy Gajda, who is internationally known
for her expertise in media law, writes in Slate.com that judges are
increasingly shielding bodycam video from public view for a myriad of reasons,
including that they could prejudice jurors, outrage the public or further
distress victims.

The trend is troubling, Gajda writes, because despite some
legitimate reasons to withhold these videos from public view, the court
decisions are extending to other public records like the use of mugshots,
sometimes solely on the basis of what might
happen to the information once released.

“Taken together, as sympathetic as the individuals in these
cases may be, those decisions and the accompanying rhetoric do not bode well
for public access to government documents and freedom of information,” Gajda
writes.